Brisbane to host G20 Leaders Summit

Monday, 16 Jul 2012

The 2014 G20 Leaders Summit will be held in Brisbane, it has been announced, meaning leaders and finance ministers from all over the world will descend on the city.

Prime minister Julia Gillard said that it was a "real honour" for Australia to be chosen, as it highlights the country's role in global decision making.

"Our international standing goes from strength to strength, having fought off the global recession, achieved strong growth, low unemployment, a return to a budget surplus and key economic reforms," she commented.

Ms Gillard identified Queensland as one of the major drivers of the country's economy, making Brisbane an ideal place to host the summit.

When the conference takes place on November 15 and 16, it will be attended by 20 leaders, five non-G20 leaders, seven heads of major global organisations and around 4,000 delegates.

Deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia Philip Lowe recently hailed the actions of Australian banks, suggesting that their ability to weather the financial storm has helped the strength of financial markets.

He also indicated that Australian banks tend to have higher standards of lending than those in other parts of the world.